


The Cygnus' Mermaid

by Twelve_Souls



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, F/F, Kidnapping, M/M, Mermen, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pirates, Violence, early 1900's, merman/human relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2020-06-28 18:51:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19818397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twelve_Souls/pseuds/Twelve_Souls
Summary: A decade he have been looking for them. A decade he has spent looking for those pearly eyes. Those bright scales.A decade have passed since the accident where they met, when they saved him from drowning in the Sea. Since then, they haven't seen each other. Since then, his heart was stolen by that mermaid that night ten years ago.He will find them, he won't give up. Never, even if it takes him a life time he wil find them and confess his love in a million different ways."Is that a...?"It just took a fishing net to find them though.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my kami, my first original job and I'm so excited.  
> I must say, I wrote the introduction and the first chapter all in the same night and it was like holy molly boy that was amazing and I need to write even more. I will love to be around here posting, I will try to go a chapter every saturday but you know, college is a bitch, but I will give it my best to finish this, I promise.
> 
> Also, I have to say that English is NOT my first language, neither is Italian, but those are the two languages in which I'm writing this because... I don't know, I just felt like it. And just wanted to say that because if there are any errors please don't kill me, I'm trying very hard. 
> 
> P.D: I know a shit about Italian but I love it so much that this story will make me download books to learn it, gosh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hate me, I'm re-reading and re-writing this shit at lightning speed thanks to Covid-19, I'll have you know I left this project there where it was since my little attention span snapped towards one of my biggest projects that I haven't posted and won't post until it's finished. Which might take a freaking long time since my co-autor and best buddy lives far away and haves zero internet to communicate.
> 
> Nevermind that, I'm coming to the Sea for this novel and won't stop until it's finished, I love the Sea more than my own life and if someone finds the formula to become a mermaid I'm in (?
> 
> Enjoy, bunnies <3

He could feel it, how his life was slipping away from him with the harsh slapping of the waves. His little arms were too tired to hold him up any longer. They gave up on him and he ended up under the water, with no strength left to swim to the surface and call for help yet again. Then he was even under the level where the nets for fishing reach, all the way down in the sea without even the will to fight back. His mind was still wide awake though and that’s why he noticed it. Noticed them.

Their pearly white hair framing youthful features as if a halo, their eyes the same pearl-ish tone staring wide at him with curiosity. A tail where their legs should have been, again of that same pearly tone of white. A little set of scales on each of their cheeks, some over their neck like a necklace and others adorning their shoulders. They circled around him, seemingly inspecting, and a little smile graced their fine features, showing some of his sharp teeth.

“In… te. Buo… te… mo… mio…” He saw their lips moving yet unable to hear through the fuzziness inside his head, somehow knowing that he would have been able to hear their voice even under water.

His lungs were screaming at him to breath but there was no way he could make it back to the surface by his own. He looked at the beautiful creature and pleaded with his eyes for their help. For them to save him. Or to end his suffering, whatever the other pleased.

They took a moment to catch up with it but then their eyes widened slightly. Something seemed to be going through their mind before they got closer and cradled his face between their hands, no resistance being opposed to this action. Their faces were closer than their bodies were and he then noticed the lines dipping on their ribs, he knew what they were but couldn’t put a name to them right now. The same with the beautiful creature that was now putting their lips over his in a soft caress, almost as if doubting doing such an action.

He woke up suddenly to a loud bang, loud enough to awake every single person in the ship that was still sleeping. He looked to the side and found the culprit, a little brunette with chubby features looking so annoyed beyond belief that she could basically beat the life out of him at any second, and her name going perfectly with that personality of hers: Abigail Farmer.

“When were you going to wake up, Leone? We don’t have all day to get this ship to the other side of the world” She sulked when he just stared at her with glazy eyes.

“Got it, I'm going now… Just give me a moment” Leone sat up and stared to the wall while yawning, his mind still musky from sleep. Or maybe it was because of that faraway memory, the sensation trying to seep back and remind him of its existence. Absent mindedly, he grazed a hand trough his blond hair, remembering the way white strands framed such childlike yet mature features while glowing in the night.

He must have stood there in the same position for a while because Abigail sat beside him and put a grounding hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality. Her eyes were unreadable to him right then “Are you remembering again that accident?” When he just nodded she kept going “And you're… Remembering that thing you think went to the depths again?”

He sighed “I hadn’t thought I saw something, I know I did. They were a-” He was cut off by her covering his mouth with one of her hands, her face going darker every passing second.

“Right, you just know you saw them. Could we just drop it and get the day started with?” She left almost before even having finished the last word. He sighed again before finally standing and getting ready for the day, his mind still drifting back to that memory. That fateful night in midsummer that changed his whole life.

He felt an urge to breath and before he could stop himself he did. He was utterly surprised when he felt better.

It was water what entered his lungs, of that he was sure, but it felt exactly as when he sucked in air, filling him with life and strength. The fuzziness on his head now drifting away and giving him a chance to scan over the other better this time. They were smiling warmly at him now, happiness adorning and brightening their face. Opening their mouth as if to say something, their head snapped upright all of a sudden, looking surprised and fearful.

He tried to look up too but only saw weird shadows shining under the moonlight that were diving further down in the water, towards them. He brought his gaze back to the pearly creature to see their eyes shining with sadness but also relief, their hands went to grab his and they lifted him up towards the figures approaching. With a sad smile, they swam to the depths, his tail reflecting the moonlight until they were too deep for the light to get there.

Leone stepped out and braced himself under the sunlight gracing his skin, the early hours making it a gentle caress. A smile appeared over his features when two redheads approached him without stopping chatting between themselves. They were the green eyed, tomato heads and hyperactive twins, Sarah and Tarah.

“Good morning, captain Leone. Have you slept well?” They asked in unison before laughing at his blank expression.

“Indeed, I did. And I hope you two had as well, for today we’re not doing any kind of stop” He passed them by and smirked when they both whined like kids, which they totally are.

A woman with black hair poked her head from behind the mast and greeted him with a mischievous smile “Yo, morning captain Leone. Had sweet dreams?”

“Sweeter than your pastries I must say” He actually laughed a little when she gasped dramatically “Don’t worry, I could never find better meals than the ones you make, Shana” The gypsy smiled at that and went back to work, silently ending their little chat.

He walked towards the helm and found there the nurse of the ship, Cecile Penndel, a man with light brown hair, golden eyes and amazing musculature; the young astrologist and science man, Dr. Stephen A. O. Porch; his second-in-command, Vanessa Stroheim, a beautiful girl with brown curls, brown eyes and an everlasting smile. The three of them greeted him rather too respectful to his own liking before he saw a fluffy bunch of brown hair up the mast, almost fuming while looking at the horizon.

“Did something happen with Abigail, captain?” Asked politely Vanessa while stirring the helm a little.

“Just… Some old quarrel came back and she left” He has no need in saying something more, they all already knew about that matter whatsoever. He continued in a different direction “I think I made her upset…”

“Don’t be sad, you just have your own point of view while she has hers. It’s perfectly normal for people to disagree sometimes” Tried to peace him Cecile while a sweet smile accompanied his words.

“He’s right. If she doesn’t want to believe then it’s her own problem, she has her judgments and you have yours… Besides, if she wants to stay ignorant and refuse the existence of a different form of the human evolution then she can loss her time sulking all she wants. We, on the other hand, will be trying to discover the wonders that the depths of the ocean have for us” Stephen’s eyes almost gleamed with his speech and the others just stared at him with different levels of amusement.

“Well, never mind that. Everyone, get to your places! We’re heading to the south!” Everyone went to their designated places after his words resonated throughout the ship and he stood at the helm, setting course and going back to reminiscing.

The sailors took him out of the water and taken him to the shore of an island saying something in a language he didn’t understand, he just guessed that he must stay here and wait for them to get back because then they went away. His mind was starting to drift away into unconsciousness when a different sound caught his attention. He looked towards the water and his blue eyes met white ones.

He tried to get closer to the water but his limbs didn’t want to cooperate and he fell twice before being just some meters away. They scooted closer too, to the point where their tail was half out of the water. It was good it was still raining or he feared their tail could get dry. Their hands were extended towards him invitingly and he obliged his body to work just to get in their embrace, being cold and warm at the same time.

He felt calmer than he thought possible considering the circumstances but he couldn’t care less about it, all his attention drifting to the source of heat against him. They lifted his face up with one clawed hand and smiled fondly at him, their whole being shining beautifully under the moon that peeked between the clouds to see their interaction curiously.

“A… re mi… u… queste… ni…” They drifted off, leaving their sentence hanging in the wind, be washed away by the storm that wasn’t softening for their encounter. Leone was too tired though and leaned heavily against them when his consciousness drifted further away from him, making the other sigh and smile while pulling him in a better position, cradling him on their lap “Mo… carino… spe… gior… ci… diamo. Bu… fo… una … notte… sog… oro” And then he drifted off towards sleep in their embrace, feeling the happier he had ever felt.

Hours after he was awakened by his shoulders being shaken by some sailors, no trace left of the merman that accompanied him the whole night. Only a little pearl and memories were left of that night. Of his merman.

Leone looked around absent mindedly to see everyone working, Sarah and Tarah chatting and laughing loudly while adjusting the ropes, Cecile talking about some new investigation with Stephen, Shana messing with Vanessa even after the latter threatened her with throwing her out the ship again, Abigail staring at the ocean from her place and looking more relaxed than before. The rest of the tribulation working more focused than them but still in a calm manner. This just gave him more time to remember and feel rather lonely.

“My merman… Where could you be now?” A decade has passed since then and the only clue he has is the tiny pearl that sometimes radiates light, making him guess it signals when the creature that gave it to him is near.

A sudden discussion between many men at the nets redirected his attention, all of them trying to lift it up and into the ship but it was dragging them down. He left someone else in the helm and went there as quickly as his foot could take him, Cecile, Vanessa and the twins also got there and they all began helping too. It was extremely heavy, or the fishes were surprisingly strong, and it took seven sailors more to get it on the ship.

“What the hell is that?” Asked one of the sailors surrounding the thrashing net, blocking Leone’s view of it. He tried to push his way between them but then whatever was inside the net thrashed even more and all of them stepped back simultaneously.

“Oh for god’s… Just stab it and it will stop moving, darn it!” Peter Quatro, a rude man but the best sailor he had ever let up the Cygnus, yelled and just a second after he had stabbed that thing. The sound that followed turned the blood of all the presents cold, petrifying them in their spots.

Whatever it was inside the net had just screamed, a very human-like scream. Blood began filling the floor, it looked human but it shined as if a rainbow was painted on it and the wood creaked at every new drop, almost angry at such substance to be over it.

“Take away the net! Quickly!” Ordered Leone without missing a beat and his men got to it as soon as the words sunk in. It took a while for it was really tangled around the creature but soon they could see what was inside.

A white pearly tail twitched still tangled in the net, a hole piercing it through near the end. Messy for all the commotion, wet long white hair hung heavily against pale skin covered in tiny scales, the only thing that contrasted were their gills which are pinkish in color, a set of those scales making a figure in each cheeks of a beautiful face, lips pursed slightly in a frown, white eyes staring at them all with no fear reflected in such beautiful orbs. A beautiful creature indeed, the most beautiful they have seen in all their travels.

“Is that a…?” Began one sailor that just let the question hang in the air without needing an answer. It was obvious that, indeed, it was a merman.

Leone had found them, or more like one of the nets in his ship did, but finally they were here. In front of him, alive and without showing fear towards humans just like that time.

So why were they turning paler and trembling all of the sudden?


	2. Chapter 1: I will be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This, take it as a gift for the hiatus. I love this story but my mind isn't always loyal to one of my projects before drifting to another. I hate myself but I love my stupid and crazy mind.
> 
> Enjoy, my bunnies.

“Anikai, wait! I told you to wait, you crazy grownup guppy!” Yelled a purple tailed merman while chasing down another one with a golden tail. The younger was laughing his heart’s content out, swimming in circles around a rock like the guppy he is which just further frustrated the elder.

“You can’t catch me; you're too slow Uncle Zen!” Laughed the little merman when he noticed the older failing to catch him or surpass him in speed. He felt confident and sped up more, getting to the opposite side of the rock without a clear range of vision of his uncle “You're too old for this, maybe you should go-“ He was cut off when he crashed against Zen’s chest who had stopped and turned in order for Anikai to run to his trap.

“Now, little guppy… Who were you telling was ‘too old’ for this? Hm?” The way his purple hair seemed to move by its own like tentacles around his terrifying expression was just too scary for the young one. He squawked when Zen began tickling him around his gills, thrashing around trying to be away of those fingers that tickled just enough to let him breathe “Surrender now or you will be doomed by my tickling!”

“I see that you two are having fun” A third, sweet voice interjected between the laughter, freezing them immediately. A fully white merman was looking at them smiling fondly, barely containing back his giggles. He scooted closer before continuing “May I join or should I leave you with your fun?”

“No, we… Anikai was just being a guppy and I tried to catch him but he was playing too many tricks and then he began circling the rock but I caught him off guard and just…” He cleared his throat and collected himself after noticing how much he was rambling “I apologize, your Majesty, we should have waited for you quietly without messing around” He vowed and made signs for Anikai to do the same.

“Please stop that, I am just your nephew Nero when we are out of the palace. We have talked about this Uncle Zen” Sighed the paler boy before going to pinch the blond’s cheek “And I have told you to be a good guppy, Anikai. You are too old for these games, and even more to drag our uncle in them” He reprimanded with steel-like eyes but his voice kept the same tenderness from before.

“Sorry, I'm just so excited for today! It’s the first time I'm going to see the surface!” Brightened the littler with an enthusiasm only a child could have, making the others laugh.

“Indeed, today is your big day. Today is your giorno d’oro, the special day in which you will go to the surface for the first time and let the sunlight caress your scales, maturing them until the sun sets and then it will be the cold moonlight which turns them into the best shield you can have” Recited like a ritual’s line Nero, enjoying the proud smile that grazed his uncle’s lips “We will begin now, Uncle Zen and I accompanying you until night when you must come back by your own, as the traditions commands”

“Ottimo! Dai, per favore, per favore, brotello!” Pleaded while launching himself to his brother’s arms, rubbing his cheek insistently against his chest.

The other two looked at each other huffing and smiled before guiding the excited guppy towards the surface. When they were near he was almost vibrating out of his scales, amusing the elders. They reached the surface and sighed pleased when the sun warmed their normally cold bodies, also bringing many memories back to the two elders.

‘Uno di questi giorni… Amore” Thought Nero while watching the horizon where the sun was still raising. It was early morning and the sun was still gentle but it was perfect for Anikai right now, his skin too soft to handle it at its peak.

“Oh! What’s that?” Asked the hyperactive blond while pointing towards an island.

“That’s an island, one of the places where humans live in. There are markets with stores where you can buy food, medicines and other things, houses that resemble our caves back home, buildings with different purposes and even some have palaces like ours, though theirs are a little different” Explained Zen happily while Anikai listened paying more attention than necessary.

“Doesn’t it move?” Questioned after hearing that humans traveled between one and another by ships.

“No, unlike us, humans don’t have the ability to move their whole home to other places. In order to do that they must first abandon one and then move to the other, leaving behind memories and people they care for” Answered the purple haired less happy this time, they knew that somehow these questions were going to come, it was always the same with every guppy.

“That’s sad… Can they go back to their first home? Or are they exiled once they leave?” His golden eyes were filling with sadness towards beings he had never met before.

“That’s a hard one. In some places it’s forbidden to leave and they can never come back unless the laws change, in others is completely normal to do so. Humans are divided in different races and every single one tends to handle things differently than the others” Zen petted his head and smiled warmly before saying “Don’t worry, humans are strong-willed. They have many people to love and care for just like us, and even though they may never see someone again they are happy. That’s the way humans are”

They continued swimming and answering Anikai’s questions until it was midmorning, the sun just beginning to warm up. They were waiting for a ship that was getting near to show it to the guppy when Nero sensed something odd, something he hadn’t felt in some years. Could it be…?

“Hey… What’s that thing coming this way?” Anikai’s voice was little, fearful and tiny, pointing towards something big approaching them. A fishing net. And it was too close to Anikai

“Cazzo! Anikai!” Zen was too apart from him, he wasn’t going to make it in time. Nero was just in range to do it but it was still too close.

In the moment when everything came in slow motion, something came to Nero’s mind, a memory from long ago.

“Remember Nero, you must never let humans see you in this form. Morph out of sight and you will be safe, but never where they can see you. It is too dangerous my boy” Said his mother once when they were alone, cradling a little sleeping Anikai on her tail. Her hands were holding Nero’s smaller ones “You must protect your brother from them too, as the older sibling. Would you do that for me?”

He was not letting his mother down on that one.

Before his mind could catch up he was already pushing Anikai out of the way towards their uncle who caught him perfectly well and safe, which was the only thing that mattered to Nero now. Not his tail getting caught in the net, not his hair tangling between the ropes, not his limbs turning useless once they were caught up too.

“Nero!” The golden tailed guppy tried his best to break the net alongside Zen but they weren’t strong enough to even budge it. He sobbed without stopping “Per favore, Nero, let’s go home together!”

The net was being pulled from the surface and even though Nero was stronger he knew it wasn’t long before more men went to help pull it and he grew tired. He took a deep breath before looking them both straight in the eyes with determination “Leave” He simply said.

“What? No! I won’t leave you! You’re my only one brotello! I don’t want to be alone!” Cried the poor guppy grabbing the net harder until his fingers bleed.

“We have no time! I will find a way out of that ship and I will be back!” When the younger turned deaf ears to this he yelled to his stunned uncle a simple order “Zen! Take him out of here!”

The purple haired merman snapped out of his trance and grabbed Anikai, who thrashed and screamed to be freed. He just stiffened while looking at his nephew’s white eyes “Nero… There must be another-“

“There is not Zen, I need you to take care of our people while I'm gone. I know you both can do it…” He looked up just to realize how little time he had left, half of the net already out of the water “I will be fine, I promise you uncle”

“…Buonna fortuna Nero” He whispered before swimming away as fast as he could with a struggling Anikai in his arms. When Nero couldn’t sense them anymore he just stopped fighting altogether and waited until the humans brought him up the ship.

Then he fought yet again, thrashing around in the floor without caring if he tangled himself more in the net. There were many men and some women around him, all scared, but he didn’t care enough to stop until a piercing voice yelled above the others.

“Of for god’s… Just stab it and it will stop moving!” That only sentence chilled the blood inside him more than the depthless waters of the sea.

Not even a second passed before something sharp and cold broke the scales on his tail and pierced through it, even breaking muscles. The pain burned so hard that he couldn’t hold back the scream that must have echoed in the ocean. He stood put, too pained to move or caught the lack of movement and noise around him. Only registering the sadistic warmness of his own blood running down his tail and damaging the wood under him that creaked unhappy. Ah, right. Our blood haves something that makes elements react oddly.

“Take away the net! Quickly!” Another voice broke the silence and just then the movement around him started again. The net was being moved in many directions, carefully lifted away from his bleeding tail, and soon his upper body was out of it. His tail was still too tangled up and he knew they hadn’t worked on it in fear of worsening his wound.

He stared, glared, at the humans surrounding him. He knew he seemed angry without a glare, his hair was messy and sticking to his body, his tail just beginning to dry a little and the blood was doing nothing to solve that problem. He frowned slightly with his lips to look even angrier. Let’s leave this clear, he doesn’t even know what it is to be angry but he have seen many angry beings to at least pretend.

“Is that a…?” Began one of the men, to what none of the others answered. Well that was a little mean, even for humans. He was about to sigh in frustration when just then his body began to tell him that there was oxygen lacking him, no water surrounding his gaping gills.

Soon he was trembling and he was so sure his face was paler than it usually was, a painful burn filling his lungs demanding oxygen. His mouth too opened and he gaped like a fish, his lungs having long since lost practice in breathing like humans did and they weren’t just suddenly remembering how to in the blink of an eye.

“Isn't it paler than before?” A voice stupidly supplied from somewhere in the crowd and then three figures stood above him.

“Cecile, help me carry them to the bathtub in my room! Vanessa, go ahead and fill it with as many water as you can! Doc, go for Cecile’s medical supplies! Now!” He felt someone slid an arm under his tail and the other around his back and lift him up against their chest, carrying him clumsily with the aid of another person. Nero wasn’t registering the pain the movement caused at his tail nor the uncomfortable sensation of having his fines crushed by the others’ arms, he just registered the way his mind turned fuzzy and slowed down to a halt. He last thought before drifting off was that his scream must have reached his fleeing family and scared them, to say the least.

He was so happy, the first day he was allowed to the surface and the night was all to him with a storm on the ball! This couldn’t be better! Oh wait, is that..? A human ship! Ottimo! Humans were his favorite creature in the world by much. He scooted closer just in time to see a small figure falling to the sea. What was that little human doing? Humans shouldn’t be swimming with such a storm, maybe he fell? Oh no, the poor thing can’t go back to the ship! Maybe, Nero thought, he can do something…

He got nearer and pulled the human by one of his legs toward him to take a better look, short blond curls framing a face full of little points, freckles if he remembered well what Uncle Zen told him about humans, orbs blue as the sea stared back at him with wide eyes. He circled around the smaller figure and saw no claws to pierce, no fins to intimidate, no scales to protect his skin, nothing to live in the wild. This brought a smile upon his features immediately. Molto carino.

“Intrigante. Buonna notte amore mio” He ‘said’ without minding that the other didn’t seemed to have ‘listened’ to him, not really talking like humans did but he used something known as telepathy by humans, he was happy just to see a human though. That happiness ended quickly when the other pleaded with his eyes for him to help. In what could a human need help from him? There was nothing that he could… Wait, humans don’t breathe under water! Oh no and he just brought him too deep to go back in time before he passed out.

Think Nero, you must be able to do something to help him survive… Wait, mother said once that a mermen kiss can give humans the ability to breathe underwater for a month if it wasn’t a kiss of true love… He can do that, it’s to save the little human after all. So, Nero got closer and gently cradled the human’s face in his hands, the lack of resistance making the cold hand of dread clutch his stomach. Slowly, fearing to scare the other, he brought their lips together in a soft caress that almost wasn’t there, gentle and sweet like the waves at dawn.

The human suddenly inhaled and his face turned surprised while looking at Nero, who could feel the smile on his face that reflected all the happiness he was feeling right now. About to say something a sound caught his attention and he turned to the source.

Humans. A bunch of humans were diving towards them in search of the boy… Why? Usually humans that fall during storms are left to die alone, why is this human different? Whatever, they were getting closer and he shouldn’t have left a human see him in the first place. He was relieved that they were coming for him though but also sad that their encounter haves to end so suddenly, he just turned and left after pushing the little one towards the surface.

He dived just enough to get out of their sight but perfectly well for him to sense them in the water, he followed them and saw the bigger humans leave the tiny one in an island saying something about coming back for him later. What? Were they just going to leave him there alone, being so small and weak, after all that happened? Is this the human’s way his father and uncle mentioned? What a weird way to do things… He waited for them to be far enough and swam to the shore, finding brilliant sapphires looking at him. The little human tried to get closer but his tired body didn’t wanted to and he fell twice, in the process Nero had also gotten closer uncaring that his tail is now half out of the water, the rain will take care of it. The white tailed merman stretched his hands for the little one to hold onto and when he did Nero pulled him into his embrace, feeling the warmness of the little body in his arms.

The human guppy, as now he suspected was the little one, nuzzled his face against his chest searching for what little warmness Nero’s body could offer, filling the merman’s chest with something warmer than the sun on his scales, something especial. With one clawed hand he carefully lifted the human’s face to face him and smiled fondly upon seeing him still awake, looking smaller than he already was being under the moonlight.

“Amore mio, uno di questi giorni…” He trailed off, thinking twice what he was about to say. The words had just begun to form by themselves and now he was analyzing, trying to find the source of such a sentence when the human guppy leaned heavily against him. Smiling he pulled him into a better position on his lap, embracing him with his tail to bring more comfort as one will do with a mermen or siren or even a shark guppy. He sighed thinking properly this time what he was going to say “Molto carino…” Alright, that wasn’t planned, keep trying Nero “Io, spero un giorno ci vediamo. Buona fortuna… Buonna notte e sogni d’oro” And the little one then drifted off to sleep, resting his head on Nero’s chest, above his heart.

What a beautiful creature, I want to know so much about you… Something is pulling my interest towards you. Why would that be…? May this be what Uncle Zen called… Love? Those thoughts accompanied Nero in his night taking care of the human guppy.

He stood there cradling the little one until the big humans came back for him. Leaving a fragment of his heart with him… And a special pearl that will guide the boy back to him.

When he came back to his senses he was in a weird box made of wood full of water, it wasn’t big enough for him since part of his tail was hanging out of it. He remembered being in a human ship, they caught him in a net and then one of the humans freaking stabbed him in the tail, soon afterwards the lack of oxygen began taking its toll on him and… Right, one of the humans ordered to bring him here. So this is a ‘bathtub’? Intriguing. But where was that human? Or the rest of them?

As if in cue, three humans entered the room that moment. One of them was big like a white shark but he seemed more friendly than them, sorry white sharks but even Nero can say that you're scary sometimes, golden eyes shining with worry; the other was a man that reminded him of an octomen, his entire being vibrating for and with knowledge, dark grey hair hung loosely from a braid that ended rather short on his shoulder blades, his eyes blue like the sky shone with excitement when he noticed Nero awake; the last one was…

“Hey, look who is awake now?” The golden eyed one stepped closer slowly like he was approaching a scared animal, which he knew was just in case he was stressed or something so he appreciated the intention “I tried to wrap your wound on some bandages but, since your tail must remain under water, they are not going to be of much help anyway. Is there something you need to take away the pain?”

Now that he mentioned it, he shifted uncomfortably due to the burning pain that coursed all his tail. He saw the weird wrappings around it, bandages he said, and tugged at them slightly.

“You want to take them off?” Asked the same shark-looking man and Nero just nodded. Hesitating a little the other helped him take them off, and Nero actually hissed when the bandages peeled some of his scales off. Cacchio “Oh god, I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have put them on but we didn’t want you to bleed to death” He sounded genuinely guilty and Nero smiled at him as if to say don’t worry, he wasn’t mad.

“Amazing… They understand our language, I still have to hear them talk though but that nod was most certainly a proof of it” Murmured the grey haired male while writing something on a notebook, his eyes burning with a hunger for knowledge that fascinated Nero.

“Calm down your horses, Doc. They still are injured and weak, we must treat them like a guest here, right captain?” Asked the big human while looking at the same little human Nero helped a decade ago. He has grown up, his blond hair now reaching his waist in a loose low tail, taller, more muscles on general, sharper features, but those eyes. His eyes were the same, big and bright, mirrors of the same depths Nero lived in and loved so much, with shines that reminded him of the lights of the night sky and they were looking at him. They both must have stared at each other in silence for too long because the other two looked at them concerned “Hm, Captain? Are you okay? And you, little one?”

“Leone? Earth to Leone?” Doc, that’s what Nero though the big one said, shook the blond’s shoulder but got no answer, just a blank stare towards the merman that was on the same state “I think we lost them, Cecile”

“What do you mean we lost them?!” Cecile was about to enter a panic attack when Leone moved towards Nero, kneeling by his side. Nero scooted closer using his arms to support himself on the edge of the bathtub, one hand hanging for being supported by his forearm, having forgotten his injury while lifting his body.

Leone gently took that pale hand and intertwined their fingers, they fitted perfectly as if made for each other. An old warmth spread in Nero’s entire chest and he looked fondly at their linked hands for a moment longer before meeting the other’s blue orbs. His throat closed on itself and he couldn’t produce a sound, but his eyes glowed with all the emotions he couldn’t put a name to, bringing them to Leone whose other hand made its way to a pale cheek and stroked gently, rubbing his finger over the set of scales there and also stealing a sigh from Nero. When he was about to say something else a sharp gasp came from Cecile “What’s wrong C?” Questioned the man with crystals in front of his eyes.

“Leone… Your… What’s in your… Pocket?” Faintly said the nurse staring with an unreadable expression in his face.

Frowning slightly, the captain fished out what was in his pocket and a soft blue light filled the room. It was the pearl Nero left him with many years ago, reacting to their closeness. Nero felt something go soft inside his chest “You kept it?”

“Of course… I would’ve never thrown it away. It’s the only thing I have to remind me of you, to assure me that night wasn’t a dream… I-” Leone would have talked all his heart’s content right there but the door swung open with such force that it hit the wall hard and fell from its hinges to the floor making so much noise that even Nero jumped.

“What is the meaning of this?! Why has no one explained to me what was that damned thing that almost drowned all of you to the depths of the o-“ The brunette cut herself off when she caught sight of the merman, her eyes going so wide that Nero actually feared they might pop out of their sockets. She gaped like a fish out of water before collecting herself slightly “Is that a true…?” Again, she stopped when her eyes caught sight of the pearl radiating light between Leone’s fingers.

“Merman? Indeed, they are. Thank you very much for reporting the obvious Abigail” Joked Doc while looking seriously pissed off, a hand over his heart as if making sure it didn’t pop out of his chest.

“Jesus Christ Abigail, you could have hit someone with the door!” Complained Cecile paler than he should be.

Abigail ignored and stared with an unreadable expression to Nero’s and Leone’s linked hands “…Why are you holding hands?”

As if being brought out of a trance Leone stood without letting go of Nero’s hand even though the merman tried to “I told you to wait outside Abigail! We will talk later and that is an order!” His tone clearly left no space for complaints and when he received none he turned and kneeled to Nero again “I'm sorry for that”

Nero tried to pacify him and smiled caressing his cheek with his tail, a really common thing to do for mermen if you were close. Of course that Leone had no knowledge of this but he leaned in the caress anyway.

“I think we should… We will leave you to it… Yeah, that’s better” Said Doc while slightly pushing the other stunned humans to the exit “So, sorry for the door. We’ll fix it later… After you finish whatever you're doing over there so… Bye” He ran off with the other two leaving them, as said, alone.

Leone gulped heavily, be trying to take away the knot in his throat. They just stood there for some minutes looking into each other’s eyes for an answer to every question in their hearts. But as expected no answer was received. Nero tried to talk but couldn’t remember a single language the moment his mouth opened, feeling the more lost he had felt in all his life. He wanted to scream but even his voice won’t come out. Leone seemed to understand this and leaned in closer until their foreheads touched, and that was all Nero needed.

Leone didn’t think so, for he began to talk with such feelings that it enchanted Nero’s heart almost right away “I have been looking for you for a decade and finally… Finally I have you in my arms. I know it’s sudden to hear this but… I want to be close to you, if that’s fine with you. You don’t have to if you don’t-” A little bite to his nose was enough to make him shut up and stare surprised at Nero who just smiled at him so sweetly that he might die from diabetes.

“Amore mio, smetti di parlare” Nero whispered while bringing his hands near his chest, near his heart. His smile widened when the look of surprise stood on Leone’s face “We do not have to talk, though I would love to be closer to you. I have been waiting for you to come for me, I knew you would and here you are…” He giggled and looked to the side before adding “Though you could have used a more subtle method, you know?”

Leone actually laughed on that one but he just cupped Nero’s face with his hand, enjoying the closeness. So was Nero.


	3. Chapter 2: What a handful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I could live in the bottom of the Sea, I would already be there. So. Fucking. Beautiful!  
> Also fucking Covid-19 can kiss my ass, I can't even have my buddy here to chat and be stupid together like the overgrown guppies we're.
> 
> Enjoy, bunnies!

Standing while leaning against the bar of the ship gazing at the sea, the sun already setting at the skyline, his mind repeated the whole day in his mind. Waking up to an angry and soon upset Abigail that stormed out off the room after having a dream about the day of his accident, going out while remembering the accident the whole time, the commotion with the net catching something extremely strong that needed actually seventeen bulky sailors to bring it up the ship, the net thrashing around, Peter stabbing it with a motherfucking dagger and the being inside the net screaming their lungs out, the mess of detangle the net, seeing his merman Nero for the first time in a decade, them nearly suffocating to death, bringing them to his bathtub unconscious but still alive, Stephen and Cecile going in with him after having calmed down the crew which was freaking the fuck out, finding them awake, knowing that they could understand everything he said and almost declaring his love for them in front of two persons that didn’t need to know that much about their captain thank you very much, Abigail storming in and literally breaking the damn door but also breaking the goddamned trance he was in before he overstepped, the three onlookers walking out of the room and the almost confession they both had back then, deciding in a ‘I want to be closer to you’ declaration which is not bad but also isn’t what he wants… Scratch that, he doesn’t even know what he wants. He will just have to take baby steps in this whole matter, especially considering the tension this all causes between Abigail and him.

Talking about the devil, Abigail stood beside him looking towards the sea, her mouth pursed slightly in something resembling a frown “Leo, I…” She drifted off and just stayed silent for some seconds, finally she sighed and closed her eyes “I'm very sorry… For not having believed you all these years, and for being a dick about it… And for your bath’s door” Her head was turned to the opposite side but even like that he could see the shade of pink on her ears. He smiled softly and petted her head “I'm not your damn dog, get your hand off of my head before I chomp it off”

Soft laughter this brought from him, taking a little of the weight out of his shoulders “I know, you're more like a little sister though. The best one I could’ve had if we’re at it” He was looking at the sunset this time and he wasn’t able to see the way her eyes changed. He turned and tugged her by the arm “Come, I think they want to know you too” She was about to say something but the smile on Leone’s face was enough to convince her and she just gave in. They went to his room and walked straight to the bath, the door still at a side leaning on the wall, and found a rather cute scene.

Sarah and Tarah were standing at each side of the bathtub, laughing and playing with multicolored bubbles that were coming out of the bathtub, Nero balancing some with their tail and their hands were under the water, somehow, creating the bubbles; they too were laughing, their sweet and soft laugh making them look even more like a character out of a fairytale, though that’s exactly what Nero is in their eyes.

“Green! Make more green ones, please!” Sarah cheered from her side while cradling a red bubble in her hands.

“No, make more pink ones!” Tarah said while balancing a yellow bubble on her nose.

“D’acordo, here you go!” Their wrists twisted slightly and more bubbles popped out of the water, various colors and sizes filling the room and floating slowly, the girls’ laughter rising in volume.

Leone was happy to see them like that, he couldn’t remember the last time he saw the girls playing like the fourteen-years-old they are, always working like the others. It was nice to have this kind of change once in a while so he dragged Abigail inside and threw some bubbles at her, silently beginning a bubbles-war with her. They two were laughing now too and soon the twins joined them in the battle, Nero being happy just creating munitions for both sides.

“What is going on in here!?” Vanessa’s voice cut from the doorframe, stern and authoritative as when she's pissed off as all hell. All of them, excepting Nero, stopped short and slowly turned to face her fearing the worst. Her face was being darkened by her hair sticking to her forehead damply, apparently some of the bubbles found their way out of the bathroom into Leone’s room and when she entered they must have popped all over her “You better explain this right now, or else…” The glare in her face was most probably able to melt ice but right now it had everyone frozen in place.

But apparently it wasn’t enough to freeze a merman “It was my fault, signorina…” Raising carefully the pearl eyed merman stood for them, their calm eyes soothing the fury inside her “I made them because I wanted to show the guppies the powers of the sea that are inside me and then I asked them to play. They, in order not to be rude, accepted and the bubbles were out of control before I even noticed. It was my responsibility to look over them and yet I did not, I apologize for my behavior signorina so please do not let your anger befall on them” At this point all the raw anger inside Vanessa had subdued and she was now sighing and brushing her hair away from her face.

“Ah well, things can’t be undone and I can’t be mad forever… Just be more careful next time. And clean this, Leone still haves to sleep here and I don’t think the puddles will help on that” The brunette stood beside Nero and gently tugged a strand of hair behind their ear, smiling almost sheepishly “Sorry for snapping, I just don’t like my hair sticking to my head” As if it wasn’t obvious she pointed to her forehead where her bangs were all plastered over.

“Oh, then please allow me to…” They continued by twisting their wrist slowly, almost uncomfortable-looking, and all the water on Vanessa’s hair floated on a little sphere above her head making its way back to the bathtub, the bubbles also making their way back slowly almost ashamed of going home “I will clean the mess I made, do not worry about it” Nero’s smile was most likely able to give cavities and they all feared the whole tribulation would have them someday, they don’t care enough about it.

“Thank you very much… Um…” She rubbed the back of her neck while looking ashamed at the ground “I don’t know your name though…”

Oh right, I still haven’t introduced them to Nero, we introduced ourselves just after the door’s mess and I was too caught up in my mind to remember about telling the others… My bad. Leone remembered sheepishly and almost facepalmed but stopped short of doing so, they didn’t need to know he forgot to tell them something so important.

Nero brushed this off and smiled brightly “My name is Nero, it is a pleasure to meet you” They even went as far as to vow their head. What good manners mermen have.

“I'm Vanessa Stroheim, pleased to meet you, Nero” The everlasting smile was back to Vanessa’s face to the relief of the other humans in the room.

“Hi, my name is Abigail Farmer” The chestnut girl stepped forward to remark and smiled friendly towards Nero, stretching a hand for them to shake.

Nero took it while his face whore a confused mask “Two names? But the guppies just have one… Is this a human thing that only grownups have?” Tilting their head to the side like a lost puppy they questioned, both women’s lips formed a thin line, Leone himself going stiff in his place. That was a rather sensitive subject for the twins as far as they had treated it, so it surprised them when they both just shrugged it off with a dismissive wave of the hand.

“We are orphans, kids whose parents abandoned and left with nothing but mere names to be called after. That’s how usually people know that someone has neither parents nor family to rely on, though there are some orphans that have the last names of their family. We’re not one of those cases” They simply explained while looking Nero straight in the face, same Nero who to his credit looked extremely upset over this fact.

“Abandoned? Nothing but your names…? How could someone, let alone your parents, ever abandon you when you are so precious? That is so… So mean” It looked like Nero was about to cry, their beautiful eyes full of sadness and turning watery each passing second, their upset mood dulling the brightness of their scales. Both twins stared frozen in place, not knowing how to react in this kind of situation. Looking into each other’s eyes for the answer they nodded after a moment’s hesitation and hugged Nero tightly, even nuzzling their cheeks against their soft hair. Nero seemed a little taken aback for being hugged out of the blue but soon they were hugging back and their tail swung happily around.

“We’re fine, now we have a family up here in the Cygnus. We couldn’t be better” The redheads smiles were so strong that everyone in the room ended up smiling with the same intensity “Would you like to be a part of our family, Nero?”

Now, Leone couldn’t be more surprised if suddenly Dc. Stephen ran in the room and began screaming that he there's a ghost in the common room, again. The walls it took him three years to bring down, Nero just passed them in less than one day and it actually ended well, no one was near death or crying or leaving. The twins never wanted someone new in their so called ‘family’ and the fact that it was both of them asking Nero if they wanted to join was unexpected but extremely pleasant. Taking a quick look at the two women he noticed they were thinking the same as he.

“I… If that is fine with all of your family then I… I think it is fine by me” The shy smile over their features was enough to make Leone’s heart skip a beat on its place, and it certainly did wonders on the twins’ ego.

“Yeah, and since Leone is like our father in the Cygnus, you can be our mother!” Alright, that comment did catch the blond by surprise and he choked on thin air, his face going bright red. Nero was in the same state and brought their gaze downwards, fidgeting and mumbling unintelligible things.

“Alright you two. Stop teasing and go back to job, Stephen needs you both at the helm right now” Leone knew just how much of a lie that was, they would never let the twins at the helm without supervision and Stephen was not patient enough to watch over them, and so knew the twins but they still went out with Vanessa following behind, only Abigail staying glaring a hole in the floor.

“Well, I’ll… Just go out and… Do something… Yeah, that” The brunette was already pacing to the exit before Nero stopped her with a wave.

“Please wait young mistress, I would like you to stay if that is fine by you?” They asked sweetly and offered a hand for her to take. It was, the blond noticed, surprisingly dry for someone that was inside a bathtub full of water and bubbles.

She hesitated but took it altogether after a little and stood beside the bathtub, still staring at the floor so hard that she might actually dig a hole on it with just her gaze. They smiled kindly and caressed her hand slightly, stopping to turn it over and stare at the cracked skin of her palms, which Leone knew have been like that for a long time since she's in the Cygnus so he wasn’t that worried about it. Nero, on the other hand, was not pleased by this.

“Oh goodness, you must have worked yourself exhausted for them to be like this, and also being so young. Allow me to…” The white mermen trailed off and pulled both pair of hands underwater, still holding hers between theirs. The spot where both their hands were glowed a soft pale blue, Abigail was so surprised that she tried to jerk her hands away but Nero’s hold was firm yet soft while they looked her in the eye, their eyes shining as if million stars were passing by them in mere seconds, somehow calming her down. When the glow dimmed out Nero let go of her hands, which now were all soft and healed “I think that is better for a lady as beautiful as you are, Abigail Farmer”

“Yeah… Thanks…” She whispered while still staring bewildered at her now smooth hands, her voice gone the same way the soreness did “…Ah, please don’t call me that. Just call me Abigail, though fr- few people calls me Abby” She said after a moment more of gaping at her own hands, correcting herself before she said what she usually said that could be mistaken by a creature as oblivious to some human matters as a merman.

Nero actually stared at her for some seconds before the smile returned to their features, talking her out of the topic as subtle as they could, which in truth was pretty subtle that Leone noticed just because he was waiting for it to happen. Oh? Leone’s mind began, it seemed like they noticed she was about to say friends? Though Nero isn’t saying a thing about it. He brushed it off and just walked out, leaving them alone for now. He has all the time he spends inside his room to be with Nero, for now Abby needs to do this all by herself and win the merman’s trust.

He will come back later to see how they're going. He doesn’t want blood scattered all over his bathroom though.

“And I'm telling you, that is not possible. Mermen are from the sea, a water creature, why would they have wings and fly around?” Argued Stephen with Peter in the infirmary, the Doc having been looking trough some anatomy books Cecile has there and Peter for the nurse to take a look at his shoulder which got seriously bruised after someone accidentally left a barrel fall and hit him “Where did you even get that idea from?”

“I heard it somewhere, that mermaids were part bird and part human and they just fly down to a ship and take away the sailors to, I don’t know, eat, fuck, both, whatever they do with them” Answered dismissively the brown haired young man and clutched a little tighter his shoulder after laughing too hard at Stephen’s blank expression.

In that exact moment Cecile and Leone walked in, the taller already scolding them both “Stephen, stop arguing with an injured person, it’s dangerous for his health. Peter, stop being so insufferable and stay still before I decide to sedate you until we touch port. Again” Threatened Cecile without heat. He just walked to the moody brunette and examined his shoulder in silence, though there were some yells from Peter in the process of examination and laughs from Stephen “Well, it certainly is dislocated. You will be out of commission for at least 2 months, it depends on how well it heals and how careful you're… Knowing you, it will be 5 months out of commission…” The last part he was muttering more to himself than to everyone else to hear.

Too bad that all of them have such good hearing “What?!” Yelled much too loud Peter while standing up abruptly, biting back a wince at the pain that blossomed from his injured shoulder “And what the actual fuck will I be doing when out of commission?” Just when he was about to yell some more crap, this time directed to Stephen, Cecile relocated his shoulder with zero hesitation, successfully cutting out his rambling and changing it to groans.

“I don’t know, I don’t want you here, you will so not be helping Stephen, the helm is out of question, the kitchen too and no cleaning duty even. I really don’t know what you will do in all that time” Answered Cecile ignoring the tantrum that was about to happen and walking to Stephen who was too focused in the book in his hands to properly care.

Just then Leone remembered that he still haven’t told them about Nero healing Abigail’s hands, something that will surely pick the young scientist attention right away “You know, I don’t think that’s necessary” He paused just to enjoy their confusion “Nero saw Abby’s hands and somehow healed them, they just held them under water and it began to glow, when Abby looked at her hands they were fully healed, no cracks or soreness. Maybe Nero could heal your shoulder in less time?” It was more a statement than a question but he still let it hang in the air that way. He enjoyed plenty the way Stephen’s eyes seemed to shine with excitement.

“Wait, what?! We’re going to see Nero now, fuck it if Abigail is befriending them, she can do it later! C, pass me my notebook!” If the blond thought that Stephen’s eyes couldn’t shine more, then now his eyes were beaming with excitement that only Cecile could bare to look at. He almost ran in the wall while going out of the room but he stood, or something close to that, in the hall waiting for them all.

“Ugh, great, now he's going to act like a child for the rest of the day. Thanks Captain!” No heat was behind Peter’s words so Leone simply brushed him off and walked to his room, Peter following close behind and Cecile besides Doc chatting excitedly. Or just Stephen rambling and Cecile smiling at him “So, how do this glowing water works?” Questioned the brunette after some minutes of walking.

“I'm not sure, Nero just took her hands underwater, it glowed and when she took them out Abby’s hands were healed. I just thought that maybe Nero can heal your shoulder, maybe they can’t because the damage is inside and not out” Answered honestly not wanting to give him so many hopes in case it couldn’t be helped.

They entered his room and walked straight to the bathroom, Leone almost giving another bruise to Peter for teasing him for his book’s collection, and found Nero playing sleepily with a strand of his hair. The other three stopped short at the door and Leone stepped to the bathtub, making Nero notice his presence and causing a sleepy smile to cross their features, if that smile made his heart skip a beat or two is too out of his understanding right now.

“How are you, Nero? Sorry for waking you up” When they just waved it off with a dismissive hand he continued talking “I want to ask you something. You healed Abby’s hands and we would like to know if you could heal Peter’s shoulder?” To emphasize his point Peter stood at his side and showed his bruised shoulder to the merman, who in truth looked horrified at the wound.

“For the seven seas! What happened to you?” Asked the sea creature and his hands, covered in water, caressed softly the bruised skin. His touch was so light that Peter couldn’t feel it “I am able to heal this but it will take a little bit more of time than when I healed Abby’s hands”

In the moment no one seemed surprised by the fact that they had just called her ‘Abby’ and not ‘Abigail’, or weren’t paying enough attention. Cecile brought a chair for the patient to sit on, Doc standing at the end of the bathtub to have a good point of view, Leone stood behind Nero.

“Alright, I shall begin” They made more water levitate and surround their own hands before placing them over the bruise, Peter being too out of it to even react at the cold water. Pale hands glided gracefully back and forth, glowing whites and blues over purplish skin, making it slowly turn back to its proper tone. Suddenly, the glow changed to red, the water enveloping it more like a snake surrounding its prey, Nero’s eyes closed hiding the only way for them to know his emotions, his face as blank as a new canvas. Their fins flapped rhythmically against their sides while their spine straightened menacingly.

Peter shifted looking uncomfortable, his face darkening slightly in something resembling pain but too far away to be it. The merman’s breathing became raged and his skin turned paler, his lips trembling and his scales losing shininess. This brought Leone out of his frozen state and he placed a grounding hand on one of Nero’s shoulders, grimacing at the excessive coldness that by now he knew was too much even for mermen.

The glow dimmed until it disappeared and the young merman fell forwards, being caught by Leone with a hand to their chest and ended up supported in the captain’s warm chest. Cecile and Stephen snapped quickly after and began looking over Peter and Nero respectively.

“Your shoulder seems fine now, there’s no bruise. Try moving it a little” After some stretching it was pretty obvious that the brunette’s shoulder was perfectly fine “It’s completely healed, not even a minimum amount of residual pain…”

“They just seem to be exhausted, apparently the red glow, that I suppose they haven’t used it on Abigail for you didn’t mention it, drains a lot of energy. Just some rest and they will be fine” Explained a calm Stephen to a nearly panicking Leone cradling a barely conscious Nero to his chest.

Some minutes after, Peter had left after saying thanks to Nero who by now looked less pale and more conscious than before, Cecile was standing against the wall near the bathtub keeping a close eye on the merman in case something else happened, Leone was now holding their hands at a side of the tub and Stephen was on the other side asking some questions to the merman.

“Are there other types of mermen? I'm referring to, like, ones that have… Wings or something that is from birds?” Apparently the idea Peter had given him had already rooted inside his brain and became a valid question by the end of the day. Amusing.

Nero looked outrageously adorable when they blinked and tilted their head to one side. With the time it may be a problem for Leone’s health how often they did that “…Wings? Well… There are the Sirens, who do not have tails or fins, instead being half… Those little creatures of the sky, the ones with feathers, how were they called?”

“Those are birds” Supplied gently Cecile from his place at the wall.

“Oh, well, Sirens are half bird. They are amazing swimmers, still slower than most mermen, and they have beautiful voices” Explained Nero while looking at the little window, hearing the somewhat distant sound of the sea “They are friendly, despite some human beliefs. I have some friends that are sirens and they are very nice creatures. There still are evil ones, but all sub-species have some of those”

“What specie are you?” Asked this time Cecile, gaining an excited look from Doc.

“That is a little hard question. I mean, I have the appearance of an Arctic Mermen, but I am more like an Open Ocean one. There are big differences between the two but I just am a little mixed I think”

“Is one of those differences the size of flukes?” Questioned now the young science man.

“Indeed. While Arctic Mermen usually have medium sized flukes, Open Ocean Mermen or Travelers, have long flukes. Thought mine is bigger than average…” They drifted off leaving something hanging in the air, something that both Leone and Stephen wanted to discover, for different reasons, but Cecile interrupted them before they could mess up.

“Well I imagined, your tail is 133.6 cm and with your upper half it makes 220 cm. I will be surprised if all mermen were like that and no human before has properly seen one” Laughed slightly the chestnut trying to bring Nero back from his spacing out.

It worked wonders “Yeah, my family is known for having the longest of all tails, we are easily recognized underwater” And they both began chatting excitedly, ignoring completely both blue eyed men. Only Nero barely noticed them and said “Oh sorry, I will explain all other sub species later to you Doc” before going back to talking with Cecile.

Leone laughed under his breath when Stephen stepped out happy but a little grumpy that now he’ll have to wait for Cecile alone in the infirmary, an invitation for the twins to go mess with him.

The blonde sat on his bed and listened to the soft laughter of Nero after one of Cecile’s jokes, warming his heart with a feeling he wasn’t sure what was. He would talk to Cecile or Vanessa about it tomorrow, maybe they will know what it is. For now… He is pretty comfortable listening to Nero’s sweet laughs.


	4. Chapter 3: Who I am.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hm, well there are drescriptions of violence and blood in this. If you don't feel comfortable with it then... I don't know how you've managed to get here, I mean... There's been blood in almost every chapter thus long.
> 
> Well, whatever, enjoy this, bunnies!

Nero sat silently in the ‘bathtub’, as the humans had called it, waiting for someone to suddenly pop in through the door. It was becoming a little boring since day 3 when almost all the tribulation had come see him and now they were barely coming back after looking only once or twice, apparently humans got over their amazement really quickly. Does that mean that someday Leone will get bored of me…? Asked a little voice inside Nero’s head, the one that always supplied the painful ideas to his mind. Trying to ignore it, he played with the water until his fingers were numb from straining his powers, something that nearly never happened to someone like him. His scales were dulling due to his mood and it will be obvious to anyone who looked at him to notice this.

“Hey, mermaid, you seem pretty energetic today with all that playing with the water” Oh, wait. Humans were fearfully oblivious to things and would never notice something like his scales being less bright “I brought you dinner, here is some fish and bread along with some grape juice” The female sailor left it on the little table beside the bathtub, which had been placed there for Leone, and left without anything more than a little glance in his direction. Shutting the door a little too loud to his liking she left Leone’s room, leaving Nero with the sourest mood he had ever had.

Oblivious humans, why do most of you have seaweed inside your heads? Again talked that tiny voice, making him think back to see if maybe a spell went wrong and created it. Backtracking, he found no clue about it, maybe it was just the effects the Trident of the Sea takes when you're too young to wield it.

He just ate the fish, not being accustomed to that thing called bread and having vomited without anyone noticing two days ago, and the grape juice smelled weird for him, and waited again. Just waited until someone appeared, even that weird sailor that almost fainted just at the sight of him would lighten his mood.

No one did appear for hours. And when someone did it was another unknown sailor oblivious to his mood “Hey mermaid, I see you're as fine as ever here. That’s nice, wouldn’t want you going sick or something” Smiled flirtingly the male sailor, standing much too close to the bathtub to Nero’s liking.

“Where is Leone?” Asked ignoring the manners his parents and uncle taught him many years ago. This was a little more important right now, and he can always apologize for his misbehavior when he's back on the ocean.

“Captain? He's at deck right now, but don’t worry, I'm here to make you some company until he's back. So, what about we play some games until then?” His tone of voice warned Nero of something but he couldn’t know why. Usually when you felt warned of something in the seas, it was because you’re about to be eaten or worse.

Humans don’t give Nero the vibe of eating creatures like mermen. Thought, he’s seen some humans eating sharks… Alright, maybe he should be warier than usual “What kind of games are you talking about, human sailor?” he questioned with unease.

His smile was as crooked as the broken fin of a fish, which couldn’t put the merman more on edge at this point “Oh don’t worry that much about it, I'm sure you’ll find it amazing what kind of games humans can come up with” Stepping closer, the male human brought a hand to Nero’s face, attempting to touch the scales in his cheeks only for the merman to lean back slightly “I'm not impressed by how easy it was for you to charm to whole crew, Captain Leone even had to forbid the entry to this room except certain persons like Abigail, Vanessa, or Dr. Stephen for example. You don’t know the work it took me to get in here unnoticed… Your scales are so beautiful” Remember when he said that he couldn’t be more on edge? Scratch that, this did.

“Please step away, I think you mustn’t be this close” Even thought Nero was wary he couldn’t wrap his head around the concept of a human trying to harm him, so many years standing up for them “I recommend that you leave before someone enters, if what you said is truth then you will get in trouble”

Cold laughter was his answer, and a strong grip on his shoulder “Oh but why so soon? No one will notice what I’ll do… I don’t think it will hurt, and if it does… You wouldn’t tell anyone right…?” His other hand cupped Nero’s cheek, thumbing at the scales there and dread settled deep in the merman’s bones. An experimental scratch had Nero flinching with gritted teeth, pain burning where the scale peeled off slightly “I'm pretty sure merchants would pay a very good price for your scales”

Nero threw his claws upwards before he processed the action, the sailor taking a hold of his hair before stepping back clutching his bleeding face. When he tried to drag Nero out of the bathtub the merman fought but it took only two hits to his head against the wood to disorient him enough and give the other an opening. Ending up out of his element and with adrenaline pumping through his veins, his fins and spine flared up threateningly while fluorescent marks appeared over his body, lips curling back to show his sharp teeth, hisses coming out of him and the water near agitating with his fear.

“Argh! I’ll rip off all of your scales slowly for that!” Snarled the sailor from between bloody fingers, four gashes bleeding profusely from where Nero’s claws caught skin.

Rushed steps resounded from out of the bathroom and soon enough banging could be heard from outside along Leone and Vanessa shouting “Don’t you dare lie a finger on Nero!” and “Open the damned door right now!” respectively. The sea creature wanted to open the door but he knew very well that before he could get near the other would restrain him, so instead he stood still while glaring at the human slowly approaching. When his eyes caught the glimmer of a dagger in the sailor’s hand, Nero feared for the future of the sea more than for his own life.

The door was once again kicked out of its hinges at the same moment when the human pounced over Nero with killing intent, Leone hurrying to drag the sailor away with Cecile closely behind until Nero felt the sea screaming at him to survive at all costs and so he obeyed, biting tender flesh at reach that happened to be on a shoulder while the dagger cut on his abdomen. Cecile and Vanessa dragged the crazed man away from Nero and Leone kneeled by his side, pressing his hands to the wound with enough force to make the merman hiss in pain “Sorry Nero but I refuse to let you bleed to death in my ship!”

Spitting out the chunk of meat he ripped off of his attacker’s shoulder, Nero willed water to gather on top of the wound and begun healing as quickly as he could “I-it does not matter… I guess I am still too young to die yet. Or that’s what Uncle Zen says when I am being reckless” He laughed softly over the pain, feeling the oceans calm around him and giving him enough energy to sit upright once more, breathing with a little bit of difficulty. His lungs still weren’t that happy about receiving oxygen through air instead of water but at least this time he wasn’t choking.

Stephen appeared shortly afterwards, and inspected the wound while talking on automatic “Cecile and Vanessa are dragging the bastard to a cell, C will be back in a moment but I'm pretty sure Vanessa wants to beat the shit out of him” After deeming the cut closed enough and that the healing was going perfectly, his eyes then landed in Nero’s temple “With what was your head hit?”

“The bathtub… But it’s not that much, do not worry about it” Slurred out the merman letting the post-fight daze wash over him.

“Nothing? You're bleeding and most surely have a concussion right now, don’t say that we have nothing to worry, kid” Grumbled the brunette while his hand touched the bleeding on the merman’s temple gingerly, as if fearing to break him. But Nero knows that it will take a bit more than poking at a wound to stop the ocean within him from fighting.

“I mean it, don’t worry about it, I will heal it after the cut seals… What does kid mean?” The humans have noted before that Nero could be easily derailed from a conversation if something caught his interest, most commonly if it was a difference between life-styles, words he doesn’t know or simple things mermen don’t have underwater. This time wasn’t an exception and it almost made them laugh through the adrenaline still pumping in their systems.

“Kid is the human variant of guppy. We don’t usually call the young ones like that since it’s a term used for marine creatures” Explained Stephen with a tiny smile grazing his face, sitting on the floor that was not surprisingly dry considering the water floating over Nero’s abdomen.

Poor Nero had no idea what to say to this, so he went with saying the obvious “Excuse me but I think that I'm not a kid by human standards… I'm too old to be considered a child anymore” He said absentmindedly, blinking when little spots crossed his vision. It seems that the hits to his head were more serious than he thought, bless Doc for actually caring enough. While his hands passed to his temple, slash on his abdomen now an almost unnoticeable scar, he explained why he couldn’t be considered a guppy for humans “I'm 160 years old”

A beat of silence was followed by surprised exclamations that helped him crawl away from the void in his muddled mind, blinking to stare at both flailing men “What the actual…?! Just how long can mermen live?” Questioned the brunette regaining some sort of mentality in the middle of his surprise, Leone following shortly behind.

“I do remember you looking mostly the same 10 years ago but I never thought it was because you age slower than humans do!” Exclaimed the young captain blinking at the white mermaid, surprise washing over him to be replaced for curiosity.

“Well, we do have extended lives if nothing kills us first. My uncle Zen is 294 years old right now, and my mother was 336 years old before she died. Mom, on her side, was 417 years old and had traveled widely before settling down. I knew some mermen that passed the 500 years mark but I'm not sure how much longer they would’ve lived” Smiling sheepishly at their expressions, Nero finished healing the wound on his temple and cleaned the blood staining his scales and the wooden floor.

“Wait a second, you first said that your mother was 336 years old but then said your mom was 417 years old before death… Did you have more than one mother? Do mermen live under a matriarchy?” Asked the scientist craving for knowledge, the merman was pretty sure that if he went through the changes to live underwater, Stephen would surely transform into an octomen.

Giggling slightly, his mind caught up to what he knew was a big difference between marine life forms and humans, a thing that slipped in the middle of his confused haze “Sea creatures are alike humans but very different at same time. I had only two parents, my mother and my mom. We can reproduce between what human calls same genders, which explains how there are so many of us underwater… Though you didn’t know the last part, since I'm the first one you see” Nervously looking the staring men, Nero thought the revelation had been too much but knew no way to amend his slip. The passenger fear of losing this interaction came back at full-force while he reprimanded himself for being so dumb, not closing his jaws and leaving the concussion talk for him.

Catching up on his discomfort, the two blue eyed males calmed him down with reassuring words. ‘Don’t worry, we’re just caught off-guard’ said the scientist. ‘Sorry for staring, we didn’t mean to upset you’ said the blond. It made him realize that they cared enough to notice his mood, to notice the change in his scales and eyes. They cared when he thought no one could see the real Nero instead of an impressive sea creature.

Later that day, they all were reunited in the bathroom. Nero played with the brilliant strands of red hair from Tarah and Sarah, also memorizing which one was who for later, Leone stood at his side brushing his hand through the merman’s soft white hair. Abigail chatted with Shana in the floor, Vanessa at their side braiding her own hair; Stephen scribbled something on his notebook with Cecile at his side talking in hushed tones, both sitting on chairs brought from the room. Even Peter was present but he mostly glared at the floor while leaning on a wall.

“What are we going to do with the bastard? We can’t just hand him over to the police or something” Finally said the Quatro after practically making a hole in the wooden tiles with his glare alone.

“Why not?” Asked innocently Sarah, leaning back to allow Nero more room to play with her hair.

Sighing loudly, Vanessa finished braiding her brown hair and left it rest over her shoulder “Because he knows that Nero exists and is here. If word spreads that we have a merman in the ship… Only God knows what could happen” Her eyes landed heavily on the white merman, sadness clouding her beautiful brown eyes.

“Then what do we do? Kill him?” Questioned Tarah absentmindedly, uncaring of the dismissive way she just proposed to end someone else’s life to which almost everyone paid not much mind. Nero had no manners on tugging harshly on her hair in retaliation.

“Don’t you dare talk about that so lightly! Life is precious!” He yelled well above his usual tone of voice to show his distress, surprising those around him once again in the day, but his mind was dead set on saying his point of view “How can you state to end someone’s life like that? Not even the King or Queen of the Seven Seas haves the right to take away the gift that is being alive for petty reasons or consider an afterthought, Mother never dared do so such a thing while she held the Trident! I don’t care if humans tend to do things like that, I don’t need to hear anymore of how you destroy your own kin without feeling guilty” The merman couldn’t help the tears gathering in his eyes, falling slowly through his cheeks and one caught the tender skin under the scale that had almost been peeled off by the male sailor that attacked him.

Wincing at the sting, the merman wiped the tears hastily which caused that same scale to move and sting more. The twins wiped his tears with gentler swipes that didn’t budge the damaged spot, whispering apologies and promises on changing their attitude for sure. With this sweet treatment, Nero missed most of the suspicious glances from the adult humans in the room until his eyes cleared from tears. The women looked pensive, Shana even chewing her lips lost in thought. Peter and Cecile blinked at him owlishly, processing the meaning behind his words slowly. He couldn’t see Leone but when he was about to turn Stephen stood up and approached calmly.

“Nero, pardon me if I'm mistaken. But for what you just said I can tell one thing…” His eyes shone with repressed excitement, held back for the good of confidence less he screams his questions “Your mother was the Queen of the Seven Seas before her death, and that would make you a Prince. Am I wrong?” Nero only saw his slip when it slapped him in the face, never having thought of telling them of his actual status underwater. Having no way out now, he just nodded shortly “You also said that your mother died years ago, which means that the Trident which I suppose you use as a crown of sorts needed to be passed down to someone else. Your Uncle perhaps?”

The merman didn’t dare look at any of them, he felt like he had lied to them and that wasn’t correct in any standards. Sighing deeply, he resigned himself to just telling the whole story “If you wish to know, I shall tell you who I am but I request that your treatment of me doesn’t change by what I'm about to tell…” Not looking up to see their responses, Nero closed his eyes before talking again “Uncle Zen can hold the Trident but he's not the chosen King. Or well… We’ve never been sure due to the circumstances… I was too young to now the length of my tail at the time and we all have the same pattern of scales in our cheeks. What I'm trying to say is that the King is differenced from their close relatives by the length of their flukes…”

Stephen’s eyes widened ever so slightly, signaling the fact that he understood the meaning behind his words without the need to go on. Cecile on the other hand wasn’t so fast at catching up to this “But you said that your fluke was longer than average”

“Average for me is a reference from my family’s flukes. Mother’s was just 15 centimeters shorter if I remember well…” Shaking his head harshly he forced his mouth to work and say things as they needed to be said “Since about 83 years ago, I'm the rightful King of the Seven Seas, chosen by the Trident after my mother’s death”

His words bounced in the walls solemnly, echoing in the silence like the waves hitting the shore in the middle of the night. He focused instead in the sound of the sea outside of the ship, the gentle waves mingling with his breathing and caressing the wood in a soft touch, the sounds a lullaby for his growing nerves. Instead of waiting for words he dreaded, his attention was with the sea calling for him, telling him to go back to his duty and try to unify the ocean once more, try to find a solution to the missing treasures in the Royal Chamber.

So entranced was he in the movement of the ocean around that he didn’t notice the calls for him until Leone put his hand on his shoulder with a little more force than usual, snapping him out of his daze to stare at the man. He found them all looking at him just the same way they had before, if a little more happiness and what he thought was curiosity, weird since usually it was Nero the most curious when talking.

“Nero, excuse me for saying it like this, but don’t talk nonsense in my presence. Just because you're King won’t change the fact that you're our friend, sorry if we disrespect you in any way but I couldn’t care less if you were the God of the ocean” Said cheekily Shana, smiling widely like a cat with her eyes scrunched up mockingly. Vanessa was quick to reprimand her but the dark skinned woman paid no attention to it “That’s what you meant with not treating otherwise, right? Then be it”

It was then that no doubt was left for Nero, assured after the hesitation and fear were washed away with the gentle waves. Just as Stephen and Leone said before, just as it was left hanging in the air now, he should’ve known from the start and never dare forget or doubt it ever again in his life. These humans, this bunch of land creatures striding along possibly hostile territory well out of their element, really saw him beyond being a merman, beyond being a very odd mutation of a sea creature, beyond being King. They saw him as Nero, a friend and comrade they can rely on and he can rely on them, a voice to hear and an ear to talk to. And Nero is sure that they're more than mere humans to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey, who guessed that? Probably almost everyone since is pretty cliche but wait for it, I'm so not making this a cliche story for the life of me. I hate that.
> 
> So, what do you think? What will happen now? What about that sailor? Everything will get an answer sooner than later, so wait patiently.
> 
> Bye bunnies!

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do you think? Liked it? Hated it? It's your opinion after all and I'm happy to have criticism, good or bad. If you have opinions, say them out loud. If you have info referencing mermaids or sea mytologic creatures, say them out loud. I'm all ears guys.
> 
> Thanks for reading and stay tuned if you want more of The Cygnu's Mermaid.


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